Page 5

Ronan

Running Fevers and Sharing Secrets

After dinner, Ronan summoned up the energy to put their bowls and spoons into the dishwasher along with the soup pot and the frying pan Kaye used to make the sandwiches. He went to the freezer and grabbed a popsicle for everyone.

“Here you go,” Ronan handed Fitz his frozen treat and did the same with Jude, before settling himself in on the sofa. He wrapped up in his favorite blanket and peeled open the paper package. It hurt to swallow, but the melted sugar water soothed his throat.

“You need to turn up the heat,” Jude said, barely lifting his head from the pillow he was resting on. “I’m freezing my gorgeous ass off.”

Ronan was about to say that Jude’s ass could use a little freezing off, but thankfully, Fitz interrupted him.

“No,” Fitzgibbon said. “It’s stifling in here. We need to open a window or put on the air conditioner. Maybe fill the tub with ice.”

Getting up from the sofa, Ronan went to the bathroom and grabbed the thermometer and a bottle of Tylenol. He brought it back to Jude and rolled the tip over his forehead. “One hundred two point one. You’ve got a fever.” He repeated the procedure with Fitz. “One hundred one point four. You’ve got a fever too.”

“Let me guess, you’re just right.” Fitz sneered.

Rolling the tip over his own forehead, he held it there until it beeped. “One hundred one on the nose. Congrats, we’re all running a temperature.” Ronan handed out Tylenol to his friends and took two himself.

“Now what?” Jude asked, burrowing deeper into his blanket.

“We could watch a movie?” Ronan suggested. They’d already watched Jurassic Park and Jaws . “What about Star Wars ?” Even sick, Ronan could appreciate Harrison Ford in those tight, dark pants Han Solo was famous for wearing.

Fitzgibbon sniffled. “I miss Aurora and Jace. It’s story time. We’ve been reading these chapter books about a little girl named Ramona and her sister Beezus. I don’t want to miss tonight’s chapter.” He blew his nose and honked like a goose.

“Everly mentioned those books. I remember reading the ones about a mouse riding a motorcycle when I was a kid.” Ronan had loved story time with his mother. It was the reason he wanted to start that tradition with Everly and Ezra. He wished Erin was here now to read him a story and rub Vicks on his chest.

“I miss Wolfie and LizzyB.” Jude sniffled. “They didn’t even call to see if I was still alive.”

Ordinarily, Ronan would think Jude was just being dramatic, but since he hadn’t gotten a call from Everly or Ezra, he felt the same way about his family.

“Aurora called me a sicko!” Fitzgibbon howled. “She couldn’t get away from me fast enough. My daughter didn’t tell me to feel better or that I should take a nap. My husband hasn’t even texted me.”

Ronan could say the same. He hadn’t heard from Tennyson since he’d called to make sure their lunch order was correct. It was possible Ten didn’t even know that Kaye had been their savior, making them soup and sandwiches. “Come on, guys. We’re just upset because we don’t feel well. Our husbands and kids love us.”

“I never thought I’d be a good father,” Fitzgibbon said before blowing his nose. “When I adopted Greeley, I had no idea what the hell to do. Just when I’d gotten the hang of it, Aurora came along and I felt like I’d been dropped into the deep end of the pool with no life jacket.”

“Ten read hundreds of parenting books when we were expecting Everly,” Ronan said, feeling guilty. “When he finished reading one book, Ten would leave it on my nightstand, so that I could read them too. After the fifth stacked book, I stuck them under the bed. I was so busy with work that I didn’t have time to read before bed. All I wanted was to get a little action and go to sleep. What kind of an asshole acts like that? When we were expecting Ezra, Ten didn’t read any more books. I assumed he didn’t want to see first-hand what a jerk I was the second time around.”

“I didn’t even want to be a father. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I was going to ever be a husband.” Jude sighed. “I don’t know what would have happened between me and Cope if Wolf’s parents hadn’t died. We might not even be together. I knew Cope wanted to get married and have a family. I just assumed he’d get sick of my bullshit and would leave me one day.”

“Christ, what a bunch of sad sacks we are.” Fitzgibbon sulked in his chair.

“Maybe we should grab the bull by the horns and call them?” Ronan asked. He hated the thought of the kids going to bed without saying goodnight. There were very few nights since Everly was born that Ronan hadn’t been around to tuck his daughter into bed. He picked up his phone and called Ten, putting the call on speaker phone.

When the call was answered, Ronan could hear laughter and loud music. “Hey, Ronan!” Ten sounded very cheery.

Ronan looked to Jude and Fitz and saw both men were as upset as Ronan felt. “Are you having a party?” The background noise reminded him of Spellbound on Ladies Night.

“Jace just brought pizza and a portable disco ball. We’re having a dance party!” “Staying Alive” started to blast in the background.

“This is my favorite song!” Everly gushed. “I love the Free Bees!”

Not even Everly adorably mispronouncing the Bee Gees name could make him smile. He pulled himself off the sofa and went to the living room window, which offered a perfect view of Jude’s house. Sure enough, he could see sparkling lights coming from Jude’s window. He could see the kids dancing.

“How do you like them apples?” Fitz asked with a sniffle. “I don’t suppose my darling husband brought pizza for us?”

“Uh, sorry Fitz!” Ten said. “Kaye told me she’d come over to make you soup, so we figured you guys didn’t need any food.”

“Daddy! Watch me shake my booty!” Wolf shouted.

Jude’s face crumpled. He looked like he was about to burst into tears. Ronan felt the same way. Being sick sucked donkey balls, but being sick while the people you loved most partied hardy, well, that was another level of hell. Jude slunk back to his spot on the sofa and blew his nose before he laid back down.

“Are you guys okay? Do you need anything?” Ten asked, sounding out of breath. Ronan would just bet his husband was doing the Hustle.

“We just wanted to say goodnight to the kids,” Ronan said, trying not to sound pitiful.

“Say goodnight, kids!” Ten shouted.

“Night!” little voices called out.

“See you tomorrow, Ronan!” Ten snorted and started to laugh.

Without saying goodbye, Ronan ended the call. From his spot at the window, he could see Everly and Aurora doing John Travolta moves from Saturday Night Fever . Who had taught them how to do that?

He pulled the drapes closed so that he couldn’t see his husband partying the night away. “Fuck me with a chainsaw.” He sat down heavily on the couch. Ronan knew in his heart of hearts that they’d made the right decision to get the kids out of the house so they wouldn’t catch what he had, but sitting on his sofa, sick as a dog, with his two best friends, he couldn’t help but feel a little lost.

“Now what do we do?” Fitz asked, sounding pretty lost himself.

“How about we make microwave popcorn and watch a movie?”

“You know,” Jude said, “What just happened with our kids was worse than when Jack died in Titanic .”

“Worse than when Thomas J. died in My Girl ,” Fitz sniffled.

“Or when Kevin was left home alone,” Ronan felt his eyes sting with unshed tears. He knew all three of them were grown-ass men, but right now, he felt like an abandoned child who no one loved or cared about.

“That’s it!” Fitz said, heading for the kitchen. “I’m gonna grab all the junk food in the house. Jude, find something uplifting to watch.”

“What, like Marley and Me ?” Jude asked with a snort.

Fitz chuckled and laughed along with Jude. Seconds later, Ronan joined in. “We can follow it up with A Walk to Remember .”

Fitz laughed harder. He walked into the kitchen. Seconds later, Ronan could hear the microwave buttons beeping. He got off the sofa and went into the kitchen to grab his emergency peanut butter cups out of the freezer. This time he wouldn’t be upset when his friends helped themselves.

Ronan, Jude, and Fitz might be down, but they certainly were not out. Their little party didn’t have loud music or booty-shaking dance moves, but they were taking care of each other together. In Ronan’s mind, that was worth its weight in gold.